Store Employees Push Samsung Phones Over Apple iPhone Devices Two Thirds Of The Time

Samsung and Apple dominate the smartphone sector, but it's the former that has a sales advantage each time a 50/50 customer sets foot in a store. According to a new study by Kantar Worldpanel, "63 percent of consumers who bought a smartphone device in 1Q14 were recommended a Samsung device" in-store. That's more than double the recommendation rate for Apple, and nearly 10 times more than Nokia.

Those in-store recommendations have an impact. Of those who were recommended a Samsung device, 59 percent went ahead and bought one while most of the rest chose a different device within the Android ecosystem. Just 6 percent of consumers who were recommended a Samsung phone waltzed out of the store with an iPhone.

It's also true that the majority of consumers research their purchase options before choosing a smartphone. According to the study, 7 out of 10 people investigated different smartphone options before buying one, and out of those 70 percent, "recommendation and advice from people were huge influencers." One in five consumers interacted with store sales assistants before going back to the store to buy, and 25 percent asked their friends for advice.

Beyond recommendations, consumers have their own ideas about what they want in a smartphone. In terms of design, screen size was the most important factor, followed by design attractiveness, quality of the materials, ability to personalize the phone, and color of the phone.